JOURNEYS Chapter One
by T'eyla Minh
Summary: Team Rocket finally get Pikachu and manage to hold onto him for a while. Meanwhile, Ash, Misty and Brock go their seperate ways, and eventually both team get completely mixed up. J&J at the moment and A&M in Part 2... which, er, isn't finished yet.
1. Prologue/Introduction/Victory At Last!

"JOURNEYS" ****

"JOURNEYS"

(A STORY IN TWO PARTS)

BY T'EYLA MINH

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters except for any that I make up (which will be obvious). I wish I did - I'd be rich by now! All characters of course belong to 4Kids Productions and Nintendo, and the Summit Group and whoever else may be involved. This is certainly not intended for profit and the only personal gain I get is for my own imagination! Therefore, you nice people, please DO NOT SUE ME! I'm a student, I can't afford a lawsuit!

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I've tried to be original here and come up with something good. This is my first attempt at _Pokémon _fanfic, even though I've written loads for other shows. Um… I've tried to remain loyal to the show and tried to keep the characterisation as accurate as possible, but on occasions I just thought that it was necessary to go away from that and do my own thing. Please note that this is set 5 years on from the present day, that is, Ash, Misty and Brock are all in their teens (how old IS Brock, anyway? Let's make him about twenty in this.) and Team Rocket are in their twenties. And none of them have changed a bit, they're still as immature as ever (I am of course referring to the wonderfully renamed 'Team Twerp') I've tried to put more of Team Rocket than I have of Team Twerp, and I hope I've succeeded, but I'm not going to sit here and work out percentages! :P

WARNING: Having read a LOT of those shippy stories, some of that may have rubbed off on me… I started this with good intent and (shock! horror!) a plot idea, namely that of Team Rocket finally managing to capture Pikachu and actually holding on to him for more than an hour (well it's about time…), but as you will discover that little idea kind of got lost and buried under a load of others. No problem, I thought, I'll just dig it out again later… hmm. This was written under the working title of "Team Rocket Finally Win", but it was then changed to what you see above. I apologise in advance for any bad phonetic spelling for Meowth. Headache pills may be required in Chapter 11 if you visualise well. It gets kinda loud at that point. If there's anything I've neglected to warn you about, tell me now.

RATING: Well gee I don't know. PG-13 in the extreme I guess.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Many thanks to my beta-reader 'Ruby Jesse' for her undying support and comments. Thanks also to her for making me finish this first half! (It's amazing where threats and praise will get you, eh Ruby? ;D) Also great thanks to Nintendo and 4Kids Productions for allowing me the capacity for so much fanfictioning pleasure…

PS: Oh, one last thing - a few points I'd like to clear up to help you read it. _This_ indicates people's thought processes. ***This*** indicates a dream sequence. OK, I'll now stop prattling on and present, for your reading pleasure (or not, take it your own way)… My First _Pokémon_ Fanfic!!!

CHAPTER ONE - THE JOURNEY BEGINS…

Prologue.

"Everyone is entitled to a little happiness, men, women, children and even pokémon. To some it comes naturally, others are born into it, and the rest of us must work for it and earn it. I have done this, so must you. It will take time, but in the end it's rewarding. Believe me… I was unhappy once, just like you… but I worked for the happiness I have now."

- Jessie in Chapter Two.

Introduction

In five years, Ash Ketchum had defeated many gym leaders and won many badges, but he was still on his journey to be a Pokémon master. His two friends, Misty and Brock, had stuck with him through thick and thin, and his pokémon had remained as loyal as ever.

Team Rocket, on the other hand, had never been successful at capturing Pikachu, despite many near-hits. Once they even had him for a whole two hours before they lost him again. Now, in their twenties, Jessie and James were beginning to think that life as villains was not for them, but neither of them would admit it to the other.

1. Victory at last!

Ash, Misty and Brock were walking along the road to their next destination. Pikachu was asleep on Ash's head, as was Togepi in Misty's arms. It was late at night and they were all tired, But Ash, as usual, was determined to reach their next destination.

"Can't we stop, Ash?" asked Misty.

"But if we stop, we'll never reach the next gym."

"And if we don't stop, we'll die of starvation and we STILL won't reach the next gym."

"Misty's right, Ash." Brock added tiredly. Ash refused to back down. After walking a few more metres, he was aware of there being no movement behind him so he stopped and turned to look. His two friends had fallen asleep at the side of the road some way back. He rolled his eyes and walked back to join them, realising that he WAS very tired, so he set Pikachu on the floor and lay next to them, falling into a deep sleep.

All was peaceful that night. The cloudless sky revealed the stars overhead as the trio slept soundly with two pokémon. Further down the road, however, all was not so peaceful as the members of Team Rocket were arguing again.

"Why did we have to come out NOW, Jessie?" whined James. "It's the middle of the night." He hadn't matured in the slightest. In fact, he was whinier than ever.

"Because we've got a better chance of sneaking up on the twerps if we do it now. They'll be asleep by now and -" She was interrupted by Meowth.

"Sleeeeep. Dat's what ta do…" He fell forward on his chin and began to snore loudly. Jessie kicked him and James, tired as he was, resisted the urge to follow Meowth's example.

"Wake up, you stupid cat!" she yelled. "Now, as I was saying, we have an excellent chance of capturing that Pikachu if we steal him by night. Those brats won't know what hit them!" She rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Come on! We're losing time!" In unison, and equally unenthusiastically, her team members answered:

"Yes, Jessie."

A few minutes later (although they seemed more like hours to James), Jessie grabbed them and pulled them behind a bush.

"HEY! Watch whatcha doin' to my fur!" grumbled Meowth. Jessie smacked him and shushed them both, pointing to the road ahead where the five sleeping forms lay.

"Here goes…" she said, and prepared for the easiest double trouble in her career…

***

Ash had a dream… He was asleep under the stars after a long day's hike (his idea, of course), and he was woken by two familiar, but quiet, voices either side of him. "Prepare for trouble… Make it double…"

"Not again. Not now. I'm too tired." Ash mumbled as he fell back to sleep again. The voices continued to speak, but he barely heard or comprehended their conversation. He was vaguely aware that the small furry form that usually lay by his side was gone, but his brain shut down before he could make anything of it.

***

Meanwhile, Team Rocket returned to their hideout with a still sleeping Pikachu, elated that they'd actually managed to catch him without being shocked. They immediately hurled him into a specially made glass case, which woke him up.

"Pika?"

"Ah, da little rat finally woke up!" said Meowth, pressing a paw against the glass. Pikachu realised the situation and frowned, placing his own paws up against the glass. He thundershocked with all his might. When the smoke cleared, he fell over. James snickered.

"No way out. You belong to us now."

"At least until the Boss has you," added Jessie. The three of them grinned evilly at Pikachu, but he was annoyingly unresponsive. He folded his little arms and addressed Meowth.

"Pi pika. Pikachu." Meowth burst out laughing and Pikachu growled and turned his back to the cat. Jessie and James were curious.

"What did he say, Meowth?" she demanded.

"He says… he tinks… he says… dat dey'll save him! Dat dose twoips will beat us!" he managed to blurt out, between fits of uncontrollable laughter. The other two Team Rocket members also burst out laughing, then Jessie regained her composure enough to face off the rodent.

"Not this time! Not ever! We win today, and don't you think otherwise!"

After a triumphant dance hand in hand around his prison, with gleeful chants of "We caught Pikachu! We caught Pikachu!", Jessie and James finally crashed out on the floor, exhausted from their effort (and from the bottle of wine they had consumed earlier in their celebration). Meowth climbed aboard their prostrate forms and curled up in a ball after eyeing Pikachu pointedly, for a long-awaited cat-nap.


	2. Rivalry

2

2. Rivalry

Misty, Togepi and Brock woke with a start as Ash yelled in horror. "Pikachu! Nooooooo!"

"What's the matter, Ash?" asked Misty, willing him to go back to sleep so she could finish her dream. "I was just about to catch a Gyrados."

"I dreamt that Team Rocket took my Pikachu in the night, but it wasn't a dream. He's gone!" The three of them looked around, and Pikachu had indeed vanished.

"You mean they actually won?" said Brock, tiredly. "Wow." Ash said nothing for a while. Then he began shouting again.

"What am I going to do?!" The volume of his voice was beginning to get on Misty's nerves, so she retorted, far more sarcastically than she had intended:

"Go find him, maybe?". Ash grabbed her by the collar angrily.

"None of this would have happened if YOU hadn't stopped! I told you we should have kept going." Brock intervened before it turned into a fist fight. It was just another day for the arguing pair, he ought to be used to this by now, but he wasn't.

"It's not Misty's fault, Ash. Calm down."

"It's BOTH of your faults! You were the ones who fell asleep." This was the last straw for Misty.

"Well maybe if you'd had the good grace to stop at the last town like we suggested, those two jerks wouldn't have found us! But no, you had to move on, always Mister 'I'm-the-boss'! If anyone's to blame it's you!" Brock tried to stop her before she said something she'd regret later. He wasn't quick enough. "If you were a better trainer that Pikachu would stay in it's pokéball like a normal pokémon and not annoy us all the time!"

"Pikachu is NOT annoying!"

"Wanna bet?" Ash was seething by this point and looked like he was about to shove her. The look on her face dared him to but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

"Yeah, well what about your Psyduck?"

"At least I STILL HAVE my Psyduck!" They all contemplated whether or not this was a good thing. Brock had given up trying to stop them and had instead opted to sit and wait for them to finish. Ash wasn't going to let Misty get away with that one.

"Wanna battle?"

"No way!"

"Afraid you'll lose?"

"No. I'm just not going to sink to your level. That's your answer to everything." Ash ignored her and produced a pokéball.

"Squirtle, GO!" he shouted. Misty rolled her eyes and folded her arms, waiting.

"Oh, brother…" Ash was not deterred by her attitude.

"Squirtle, water gun attack NOW!" He pointed to Misty. His pokémon turned to him and frowned, then shook it's head. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Squirtle." ["She's human."]

"Do as I say!"

"Squirt!" ["No!"] Misty laughed at him.

"Seems as though your pokémon know you really well, Ash." she taunted. He tried his best to answer her back but he was getting angrier and angrier and was finding it difficult to think straight.

"He was talking about you -"

"Takes one to know one." Misty was too good at this. Ash gritted his teeth and growled. Togepi whimpered and Misty picked it up and glared at Ash. "You're scaring Togepi." Misty could tell Ash was really annoyed and was taunting him for that reason. Brock had seen all of the insults coming and calmly waited for the situation to settle down. But then Ash did something that surprised even himself…

Several seconds passed when nothing happened. Time stood still at the roadside. Brock stared open-mouthed. The sound of Ash's hand as it made contact with Misty's cheek echoed around them in the silence. She had dropped Togepi and it was now hiding behind Brock with Squirtle. Ash's eyes, previously flashing with fury, were now wide with horror and panic at what he had just done. And Misty… she stood motionless, her head still facing the direction that Ash's blow had forced it.

The world stopped.

After what seemed like an eternity, she turned to look at Ash, and brought a hand to her cheek. Pain and fear crossed her face, then anger and then something Ash had never seen before. Her bottom lip began to quiver and her previously determined eyes filled with tears, and before anyone knew what was happening, she had turned on her heel and run off. Brock called after her and ran a little way but she was already long gone with no hope of catching her. By the time he'd walked back, Ash was slumped on the floor examining his hands. Brock was now in no mood to be giving advice.

"Great! First Pikachu, now this! Good going, Ash."

"I… didn't mean… it just…"

"Yeah! It did!"

"But -"

"No, 'but's Ash. I don't think I want to stay around someone who hits fifteen-year-old girls." With that he picked up Togepi and calmly walked off, leaving Ash by himself with Squirtle. The water pokémon cautiously approached it's master, only to find itself instantly back inside a pokéball. Ash was upset but his pride wouldn't let him show it, even though no-one was around to see. He balled his hand into a fist and punched the ground before getting up.

"FINE! I don't need anyone! I started this journey alone and that's how I'll finish it!" He walked in the direction he was originally headed, determined and headstrong. But as he walked, he had to fight back the tears…


	3. The Taste Of Success

3

3. The taste of success.

Back at Team Rocket's cabin, Jessie was the first to wake up. She checked a nearby alarm clock - it was nearly nine. After a yawn she tried to get up but found that she couldn't move and began to panic, thinking she'd been captured by other Team Rocket representatives. Then she recognised her surroundings. She looked down to see a blue-haired head lying on her stomach, and a tan cat curled up on the body attached to it. Normally she would have thrown the pair of them across the room but something made her stop. Meowth DID look quite cute like that, and come to think of it, so did James. Especially now that he was older. She was just about to move a lock of hair out of his eyes when the alarm clock went off. The noise woke Meowth, who stretched nonchalantly and jumped off James as if this was something he did every day, and disappeared to the kitchen. James also woke up, but it was the clenching of Jessie's body as the alarm clock startled her that did it. He opened his eyes to see her face, then yawned and looked at her.

"Hi, Jess." There was a pause.

"GET OFF ME, YOU DIMWIT!!!!" James lifted his head enough for her to move and she got up. His head hit the hard floor with a loud thud.

"Ow." She ignored him and went to tap on Pikachu's glass. The pokémon woke up.

"Hello, Pikachu. Today you're off to see the Boss." she said gleefully. Meowth wandered back in looking peeved.

"Where's my breakfast?"

"You're a cat - go catch something."

"I could really go for a roasted rodent…" he suggested, eyeing Pikachu hungrily and licking his lips. Jessie grabbed him and threw him at James, who had finally forced himself up. Both of them hit the far wall.

"You can have all the food you want once we hand this Pikachu over! Think of all the money we'll make!" The three of them began to imagine…

***

Jessie was being pampered and preened by several stylists and make-up artists. James was performing on a stage on a tropical island being cheered on by Jessie [_Three dreams in one!_, he thought.] Meowth was being followed adoringly by female Persians.

***

They snapped out of it as James' stomach rumbled. "I'm hungry." he complained.

"You're always hungry," said Jessie. James pouted at her. "Meowth, get Pikachu, James, the balloon. Team Rocket are about to get paid!"

Meanwhile, Misty was still running. Despite the tears that had welled up previously she hadn't actually cried. Yet. She was rerunning the whole situation through in her head, trying to think what had made him flip. What had she said? Nothing much, she'd said worse before now and it hadn't ended like this. They were always fighting with each other and she always had the last word. It was traditional! As the final few words of their argument went through her brain she tried desperately not to remember the eventual outcome. She failed. It was a vivid memory forever embossed upon her mind. The look in his eyes, of total fury - she'd sense he would hit her, then. The feel of his palm as it made contact, so strong and sharp. The terrible sound it made as it echoed all around. The look of absolute terror on his face afterwards - he hadn't meant to hurt her, she knew that, but all the same, he HAD…

She finally stopped running and fell to the floor. The tears came and she wept for a long time, alone. She longed for that familiar pair of jeans and that Pokémon League cap to appear along with a voice telling her not to be silly. It took her a while to realise that those were exactly what she was running from, and her tears fell anew to the floor.

Brock was looking for Misty. He was going to apologise, but not for Ash for once. He was going to apologise for not stopping the fight before it got out of hand. He felt it was partially his fault in that sense. In fact he felt utterly terrible. He'd inadvertently hurt Misty and he'd also deserted Ash right when he needed him. He kept walking in the hope of finding SOMEONE to apologise to…

A lifetime away, Ash was sitting on a log in a forest, pretending he wasn't lost. He waited for a familiar female voice to give some sort of unhelpful comment. That voice never came. He examined his hands once more - one of them was still throbbing and red, and the only thing that stopped the horrible burning sensation was his own small tears.


	4. Team Rocket Travels

4

4. Team Rocket travels.

After a lot of pain, complaining and arguments, Team Rocket finally got the balloon up in the air, complete with all three members and Pikachu, who was still inside his glass prison. This was an achievement in itself considering that the two human members of the Team were seriously hungover. James had a headache, which wasn't helped by the fact that his head had hit the floor that morning, and he was whining about everything being too loud. Jessie was very, VERY grouchy, and was yelling at both James and Meowth for no good reason. Meowth was simply tolerating it.

After a few minutes of travelling, when everyone had calmed down, their victory, in his prison, was trying to come up with an escape plan. He had given up trying to give his fellow pokémon filthy looks (he couldn't compete with Jessie!), so instead played on James' sympathy by looking completely and utterly dejected. It worked and James began pleading with Jessie.

"Oh, please can't we let him outta the box?" She ignored him. "He looks so upset! I just wanna pet him!"

"Do you also wanna get shocked?"

"Oh. I hadn't thought of that." That was the end of THAT idea. Pikachu turned to Meowth and addressed him, pokémon to pokémon.

"Pika." The cat decided to answer.

"WHAT?"

"Pika pi."

"I will NOT let you out!"

"Pikachu - chu. Kachu!"

"Well, I'm not in a box, so I wouldn't know what it feels like."

"Piiii -"

"Listen up, rat! It ain't gonna woik! I'm not gonna free ya so ya might as well give up!" With that, Meowth turned to see what his team members were talking about. Pikachu sat down and frowned.

"Chu!"

The other two were discussing how to make a good impression on the Boss.

"We could say the motto," suggested Jessie.

"He hates the motto." James cringed at the thought of Giovanni yelling at them.

"Hows about we just knock politely, hand over dat electric mouse, pick up our paycheques and get out?" said Meowth. The other two said in unison: "Brilliant!" Jessie was getting more and more eager: "He'll be so happy, we might even get a pay rise!"

"Or a promotion!" said James. Meowth closed his eyes dreamily and added:

"I'll be top cat again." Jessie and James kept on and on with more things they'd like.

"He'd have to be nice to us!" she said.

"Extra nice!"

"I could get my own personal stylist!" _Not that she needs one,_ thought James.

"I could go to drama school just like I'd always wanted until my parents found that Jessiebell!" _God I hate her!, _thought Jessie.

"All the kitty chow I could eat!"

"We could have an early retirement, Jess."

"Why would we want to do that?" James was stumped for an answer to the question. He didn't know what to say. It just seemed like a good idea at the time.

"I… don't know… but we could." There was an uncomfortable pause. Then Jessie noticed a familiar building and pointed to it.

"Rocket Headquarters! Take us down Meowth!" The cat pokémon began to manoeuvre the balloon. Just as he began their descent, it juddered and stayed at the same level. "What's wrong, why aren't we landing?"

"Da controls are stuck!"

"Well, UNSTICK THEM!"

"Dey won't budge!" Meowth was pushing and pulling with all his might to no avail. James started to panic.

"But if we can't land, where are we going to end up?"

"We could be drifting forever!" shouted Jessie.

"I don't wanna die up here!" said James as the two of them clung to each other and trembled. Meowth swiped them both with his claws.

"Calm down! All we need ta do is find a good open space, then we can let some air out of the balloon and drift slowly to Oith!" His team members let go of each other and Jessie patted his head very uncharacteristically.

"You're right. It probably won't take long to walk once we land."

"Walk!" whined James. "In that case I'm having a nap now…" He sat in the bottom of the basket and fell instantly asleep. Jessie sighed noisily.

The giant Meowth head drifted peacefully through the sky, it's two awake occupants looking for a place to land.


	5. Meowth's Lucky Find

5

5. Meowth's lucky find.

Brock had given up on where to look for either Ash or Misty. He'd stopped by the side of the road with Togepi, who seemed to be having a hard time.

"Togepriii."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed. "I miss 'em too."

Suddenly there was a crash behind him, and Togepi clung to his leg in terror as he turned to look. He was greeted by a scene of utter chaos. A massive, vaguely familiar piece of tan fabric was bumpily spread over quite a distance, with a few muffled shouts coming from underneath it. A female voice could be heard above all the rest.

"Good move, furball!" There was a loud thump and a decidedly cat-like yowling noise, and then the fabric ripped as two sets of claws tore through it.

"MEEEEEOWTH! Dat really hoit!"

Brock was instantly alert. "Team Rocket! I shoulda known! Give me back that Pikachu!" Jessie ignored him but noticed something.

"Where's the other two runts?"

"None of your business."

"Well in that case it's three against one and we've got the advantage, right James?" There was no reply. "RIGHT, James?" She could hear snoring from under the deflated balloon, so she ran over to the noise, revealed James sleeping contentedly, and smacked him. "JAMES!!!!"

"Wha…? Oh, hi Jessie. Are we on the ground?" She grabbed him by the foot and dragged him unceremoniously to where Meowth was waiting, tapping a foot impatiently.

"The brats are separated," she explained. "That means we won!" By now, Brock was getting annoyed.

"You'd already won before we split up. There's no need to rub it in. Leave me alone, can't you?"

"He's right, Jess. There's no point in us hanging around here. We might as well get to headquarters."

"Hmm, I suppose you're right. Come on Meowth."

The cat pokémon looked thoughtful, then approached Brock, who instantly guessed what he wanted.

"You're NOT getting Togepi." He picked up the egg defensively.

"We'll see about dat!" Meowth suddenly launched himself at Brock's stomach, forcing him to the floor and making him drop Togepi. Before he had time to fight back, Meowth had grabbed it, yelled "RUN FOR IT!!!" to his team-mates and fled.

Brock cursed himself. He'd lost Togepi. Misty was going to kill him… if he ever found her.

Meowth held onto Togepi for dear life, but couldn't run fast enough to keep up with Jessie and James.

"My legs are too short! One of yous will havta carry Me-owth!" Jessie quickly grabbed him without really thinking about it, as they ran as fast as they could. Meowth began to babble incoherently at his newly acquired pokémon, something along the lines of: "My little Togepi's come back. I knew I'd find ya! I'm a happy Meowth again." James, carrying Pikachu, couldn't believe the change in his two partners in crime. Meowth was concerned for someone other than himself, carrying that egg as though his very life depended on it. And Jessie… was willingly carrying Meowth. James decided not to probe with questions and opted to just keep on running.


	6. Poor Misty

6

6. Poor Misty.

The slim ginger haired girl fell through the trees as she walked. She had no idea how long she'd been walking. It felt like months, but she knew it had only been a few days, if that. Still, it was a long time alone. In the forest that she'd walked into without thinking, she was beginning to get scared. It was night, nearly - more like early evening, but it was dark nevertheless and she sat on a log. She hadn't even got Togepi's reassuring chirp and in desperation she released Psyduck from its pokéball, and, as usual it looked at her, confused.

"Hey."

"Psy?"

"Any ideas how to get outta here?"

"Psy…" It shook it's head.

"No. I didn't think so."

She shivered slightly against the cold and looked around. "I hope Togepi's okay with Brock…"

By the time Team Rocket stopped running they were miles from both Brock and their wrecked balloon, and very out of breath. They sat on the floor in a forest clearing, gasping for breath. Meowth was still holding Togepi, as well as sitting on Jessie's lap (James suspected she hadn't noticed!), but Pikachu and his glass prison were on the floor. Togepi noticed his fellow pokémon and, recognising him, jumped off Meowth's lap to greet him. Meowth jumped off Jessie to follow him.

"Pri…?" chirped Togepi to Pikachu.

"Pikachuuuu…" he said, sadly.

"Oh yeah. I forgot dat yous two know each udda." Togepi looked at Meowth at this point.

"Togepri… toge-togepri."

"I can't do dat." he said. Jessie and James had finally stopped wheezing and were watching the scene with interest as the three pokémon communicated.

"Toge-ge-pri! Togepri! Pri!" The little egg pokémon was getting angry and Meowth flapped his paws in a 'calm-down' gesture.

"Okay. Okay. Just make dat rodent promise not ta shock us." Togepi spoke briefly to Pikachu, who nodded at his captor. "Dat's better.". Meowth began to open the glass box. Jessie was the first to react.

"MEOWTH! What are you doing?"

"Togepi wants me to let out the rat."

"Are you insane? We'll be shocked!"

"He promised not ta." clarified Meowth. Despite Jessie's loud protests, he let out Pikachu. There was a tense silence as he stretched and jumped up and down, testing his freedom, then stared at everyone.

"Piiiii… kaaaaa…." everyone held their breath. "CHU!" Pikachu sneezed and Togepi giggled as the three members of Team Rocket fell over with relief.

After regaining their composure, James asked a question that had been bugging him.

"So, Meowth, what's so great about that Togepi. The Boss hated it."

"Togepi is not for dat evil-hearted, Meowth-hating moron. Dis Togepi is MINE. The one I lost to dat red-headed twoip."

"I never knew how much it meant to you." said Jessie. Meowth suddenly flipped.

"There's a lot you don't know about me. And you'll never know it!" he said, maliciously. "Now I've got Togepi I'm goin' to make my own life without you two failures." With that he took the little egg by the hand and calmly walked away, leaving the other two staring after him, open-mouthed.

Misty had been sitting in silence on the log for some time, and decided it was finally time to move. She had to go SOMEWHERE. Just as she was getting up, though, Psyduck began to forage in the undergrowth by her feet and dug up some scraps of paper. Misty picked them up. One was a crumpled piece of paper, and the other was a torn photograph. It appeared to be a diary entry and since it had obviously been rejected she saw no harm in reading it - she had nothing better to do, after all. However, she instantly regretted ever finding it…

"Hey diary,

it's me. Today I did something I never thought I'd do. I hit her. Hard. And I don't know why. I feel really bad cos I made her cry, and I've never seen her cry before, not like the way she did today. But before she really cried properly she ran off, and she even left her pokémon behind. She NEVER does that.

"I know I wanted to hit her cos she made me really mad, and I wanted to battle so I wouldn't have to, but she didn't want to battle me. She's right, it is my answer to everything. I got so mad that I made my Squirtle attack her but he wouldn't cos he knew it was wrong.

"After she ran off Brock got really mad at me and left, so now I'm all alone. I've got no Pikachu thanks to Team Rocket, no advice from Brock and no stupid girly stuff from Misty, telling me what a jerk I am…"

The diary entry abruptly ended there where he had obviously gotten frustrated and ripped it out. She put it down and looked at the torn photo. It was of herself and Ash, taken by Brock just after he'd won his last badge. He was holding Togepi and she was holding Pikachu, and they were both smiling broadly. She wondered if they'd ever be able to smile like that again. The photo was raggedly separated between the two of them. _How symbolic,_ she thought.

She folded the diary entry and the pieced of photo and placed them in her pocket but she didn't know why. Then for the twentieth time in as many minutes, so it seemed, she began to cry, as Psyduck placed a reassuring paw on her knee.


	7. And Then There Were Two...

7

7. And then there were two…

The two remaining members of Team Rocket were still staring open-mouthed fifteen minutes after their feline companion had parted company. And they were still sitting on the floor getting damp behinds from the dewy grass. Finally, James broke the horrible silence.

"I don't think he's coming back." he said. Jessie audibly grunted and raised a hand to hit him. He instinctively flinched and moved his arms to protect his face, and awaited the blow. Nothing came. Instead of a thump he heard her voice.

"No. I don't think he is," she said. James smiled. She hadn't hit him for once. "Who'd've thought that our Meowth could be so… sensitive." James nodded in agreement, then thought of something.

"I don't think he IS our Meowth. In fact I don't think he ever was in the first place. We hardly knew him." Jessie sighed and contemplated this, then James took out a pokéball she'd never seen before and looked at it in thought.

"What's that?" she asked.

"His pokéball." said James, "I guess we won't be needing it any more." He raised his arm to throw it away, but was stopped by Jessie's hand on his wrist.

"Let's keep it." He lowered his arm again and looked at her. She HAD changed but he couldn't think how or why. Maybe it was capturing Pikachu and their imminent paycheques (which certainly wouldn't be as satisfying without the cat, he added), or maybe it was the loss of Meowth, but she seemed… calmer. More serene, even. She hadn't hit him - he was still in shock about this. Even Pikachu could sense the difference in her as he approached cautiously. Jessie took the pokéball from James and examined it. A little image of its previous occupant had been engraved into the red surface, presumably by that occupant, along with the name beneath it. James wasn't sure, but, watching her, he thought he saw a tear roll down her cheek. He knew he was mistaken, though - she would never cry over Meowth. She wouldn't cry over anybody.

Just as he was contemplating this, she suddenly snapped out of it and hurled the pokéball at Pikachu, capturing him before he had a chance to react. Then she retrieved the ball and tossed it in the air triumphantly.

"Come on! Let's get to Headquarters!" She began to run off. _That's my Jess,_ thought James. Then he ran after her.

Ash had finally got out of the forest and by sheer coincidence had stumbled (literally) upon his home town of Pallett. "Well," he thought aloud, "I may as well visit Mom while I'm here."

He began to walk through the familiar streets towards his house. Then a thought struck him: "What am I gonna tell her about the other two guys? She'll expect them to be with me." He stopped on a nearby bench and pondered what to do. Not being a good ponderer he didn't come up with the most original of ideas. "I can't tell her the truth - she'll kill me." That image of Misty's face came back and he fought it to a far corner of his brain so that he could focus. "I'll have to tell her that we all went our separate ways. Yeah." A decision finally made, he began to walk to his house. He could see it in the distance. Then he broke into a run before he had time to change his mind about his story.

In seconds he was knocking on the door. His mother's voice called from inside. "Don't go away. I'm coming. One second." She opened the door and beamed. "ASH!!!" She didn't hug him, knowing that he'd be embarrassed, but then she noticed something. "Where are your friends, honey?" There was a long pause. Then Ash looked up at his mother's smiling face, ready to tell her everything. It was about time he started to take responsibility for his own life…

Before she knew what was happening, Mrs. Ketchum had been forced backwards by the impact of her son throwing himself at her, his arms around her waist.

"Ash, what-?" she began, but her question was cut short by a loud sob. She managed to prise off her son and take him inside to calm him down. All Ash could do was hope she'd be understanding about it all.


	8. One Meowth And His Togepi

8

8. One Meowth and his Togepi.

In another part of the forest that Misty and Ash had gone through, albeit separately, two small creatures could be seen walking side by side. The larger one was suspiciously cat-shaped and the other was remarkably like an egg… inside another egg… with legs. The cat-like creature was talking to its companion excitedly.

"I've waited so long ta find ya Togepi! I tawt dat twoip would have ya forever, but she lost ya! Now you're mine again. We're gonna be so happy, just like a real family! I'll even learn ya how ta talk. How about dat?" The egg chirped happily. "I tawt so. Den we can find lots of udda rejected pokémon like us, and learn them how ta talk - we'll be the famous talking pokémon!" The egg chirped again.

As the cat kept talking and walking, the egg suddenly stopped and looked towards a clearing curiously, apparently hearing something. His companion stopped as well.

"What's up, Togepi?"

"Togepriiii!"

"You hear sump'n?" The egg suddenly ran off into the woods.

"Priiii!"

"Wait for Meowth!" yelled the cat, giving chase.

It was difficult to see as the forest became denser, but Togepi followed the familiar sound faultlessly. Meowth, despite his excellent night vision and sense of smell, was having trouble keeping up, but he was damn well not going to lose Togepi again. As he followed, he could faintly hear the sound attracting Togepi - a girl crying. "Dis is no time ta be valiant…" he muttered, following.

Misty knew she was being silly. Crying wasn't going to solve anything and she had to get moving or she'd simply die of starvation. Mind you, she certainly felt like dieing. "NO!" she told herself, startling Psyduck. "I'm stronger than this! I'm Misty! I'm the winner! I'm…" her cheek throbbed. "…pathetic." She began to cry again, even though she knew she had to pull herself together. He was just an obnoxious kid and he always had been, and he wasn't going to change. But he wasn't spiteful and he wasn't vicious. He'd just snapped. Then she heard a familiar noise and leapt to her feet. It couldn't be… could it? "TOGEPI!!!" She ran to pick up the pokémon. "Where's Brock? How did you find me?" Togepi pointed excitedly to Meowth. Misty didn't recognise him and ran over to give him a cuddle. "Thank you… Good kitty…" Meowth, lost in his own world of kitty pleasure, gave himself away.

"Mmmmmeowth… what's a cat s'posed to do…? Misty immediately grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

"YOU! What are YOU doing with MY Togepi!?!?"

"NUTTEN!" He shouted back, then fury swiped her face, not noticing her already reddened cheek. She dropped him.

"I won him fair and square, Meowth! Live with it!"

"And I can take better care of him! I won't lose him!" She couldn't deny that. "I got him off of dat screwy-eyed twoip, Brock!" She imagined the scene. It was hard to envisage Team Rocket actually WINNING something.

"Where's your two friends?" she said, noticing that the familiar motto had not been said and it had been a full five minutes.

"Dey're not here."

"Really?"

"Listen, sista, I've quit Team Rocket."

"I don't believe you."

"Do you see dose morons anywheres?" She shook her head. "Well den. I'm trying to better myself, starting by quitting the team and teaching Togepi how ta talk. I've been a crook all my life and it's time for a change. I've got a dream - you wouldn't know what dat feels like."

"I do so know. It's my dream to be a great water pokémon trainer - to catch a Gyrados."

Meowth used this for his own advantage. "Den why do you have a Togepi?" She couldn't answer that one, so he carried on. "Look, kid, all I've ever wanted is ta be happy like anyone else. Togepi is like my family. I tawt at one point dat Jessie and James could be da same, but dey hate me. So all I have left is dat Togepi." The cat's eyes began to fill with tears and he looked to the floor. "Please. Let me have him."

At any other time, if she wasn't in so much pain herself, Misty might, just might, have given in. She could see how much Meowth wanted this. However, she wasn't willing to cave this time.

"Why don't we let Togepi decide? I think it's old enough now to make it's own decisions." she suggested. Meowth paused, then nodded, and the two of them separated and left the egg in the middle.

"Let's play dis fair," he said. "No calling or tempting."

"Agreed." They confirmed it with a nod. They waited as Togepi looked between them, decided and began to move…


	9. Payday

9

9. Payday.

Jessie and James were closing in on Team Rocket Headquarters. They were idly talking, but Pikachu and their Boss were the furthest things from their minds.

"James, you never answered my question."

"What question, Jess." _Why do I keep calling her that lately?_

"Why did you suggest early retirement?" _If it is what I think it is…_

"I told you, I don't know." _I can't tell her. _"It just… came out." She didn't believe him. "Does it matter?" _Please say 'yes'._

"Well… yeah."

_There is a God!!! _"Why?" _Oh great, Jimmy. Really subtle._

"I just wanna know." _I REALLY wanna know._

"Well… I thought… we could beat the record for being the earliest retirers!" _D'oh! _He mentally slapped himself on the head and cringed at his own stupidity. Luckily she didn't see.

"I guess twenty-one IS a little early.", she said absently, then paused for thought. "That's not the reason is it?" _Don't push it._

"You know what, Jess?" _I did it AGAIN!_

"Yes?"

There was a pause. "Curiosity killed the cat-type." _Dammit! I'll just wait for the blow. _"Ouch." he said, as Jessie smacked him. It wasn't an angry reaction, though, it was a cuff on his arm.

They walked on in silence for a while, then she took out Meowth's pokéball (which still held Pikachu) and examined it. After a few seconds she said "I miss Meowth." James never thought he'd hear those words. She lowered her hand carrying the pokéball to her side, and put it away.

"Me too." Very cautiously, he reached out his hand to her and took her palm in his. He squeezed it tightly. She returned the gesture, then they let go and carried on walking, wondering what the hell had just happened, and damning Meowth for causing all this trouble.

They reached Team Rocket Headquarters about five minutes after that, and navigated their way effortlessly through the labyrinthine corridors to Giovanni's Big Office. It was signified by a heavy wooden door at the end of an otherwise bare, dark and very imposing corridor. But Team Rocket agents weren't supposed to feel intimidated, they were supposed to be brave. Nevertheless it put the fear of God into Jessie and James as they approached.

They stood outside the door nervously and Jessie knocked, getting the pokéball ready. She kept scratching the back of her neck, just below her hairline, nervously. A voice seeped menacingly out of the intercom on the wall: "Enter." They looked at each other then opened the door.

In a scene straight out of a James Bond movie, their Boss was sitting in a huge leather chair with his back to them, the only visible part of his body being the hand he was using to stroke a contented Persian on his lap. "Yes?" he asked.

"Go on, James." whispered Jessie, shoving him forwards. He cleared his throat and began addressing the imposing leather chair.

"Sir… we have-"

"Speak up!" interrupted the chair. James trembled and Jessie poked him encouragingly.

"Sir, we have caught that Pikachu you wanted." he finally managed to say, confidently. The chair guffawed and the Persian leapt from its occupier's lap. It glared at the pair of them evilly and then wandered off to sit with its back to them in the corner of the room.

"I highly doubt it."

Jessie did not like being called a liar, even indirectly, so she laid the pokéball on the desk and gestured for her partner to leave.

"If you don't believe us, sir, you're welcome to check for yourself." she said, as forcefully as she could. James still hadn't left and she pushed him towards the door. He was sure he saw her mouth the word 'run', but he couldn't really tell and waited for her. Giovanni finally turned around and took the ball. He didn't open it. Jessie breathed out.

"I believe you." He examined the duo carefully, then realised what it was that was missing. "Where is your Meowth?"

James swallowed nervously. Jessie evidently wanted to leave. Now. This second. But he had to explain himself first, much to her annoyance as she let out an inaudible sigh. "He went off with some Togepi to start a new life for himself…"

"Really?" He seemed remarkably… not angry by this. However, he then calmly added with a wave of his hand: "I will of course dock a third of your pay for this." They had expected as much, but still, their hearts sank. "Here." he tossed a very small bag at Jessie. "Your pay."

"And mine?" added James. "Uh… sir?"

"BOTH of your pays!" said Giovanni. "Now get out!"

They certainly didn't need to be told twice to get out of that eerie place. They immediately figured that the best way to escape as quickly as possible would be to 'borrow' a means of transport, so they grabbed a nearby jeep and drove back as fast as it would move, leaving no evidence that they had been there at all except for a large cloud of dust.


	10. Paths Meet...

10

10. Paths meet…

Meowth couldn't have been in any more pain if his tail had been stepped on and he'd been kicked AND had all of his whiskers pulled out individually, or if all of these things had happened simultaneously. Togepi was walking towards Misty. He didn't think it was possible to feel so bad - it was like being shot in the chest… no it was more like having a very long sword slowly driven through his body. It seemed to go on forever, until something hit an override switch somewhere and brought tears to his eyes. He managed not to break down, but it was difficult.

"Well… I guess dis is it. Bye, Togepi."

Misty bent to pick up her pokémon, mentally stopping herself from caving in and giving it to Meowth. This was more than she could bear. Suddenly, Togepi grabbed her hand and pulled her over to Meowth, then took his paw in it's other, and held them both.

"Priiii Togepriii!" Meowth let a tear fall. Misty was confused.

"What did he say?"

"Togepi wants to stay wid both of us!" He was jumping up and down with joy, looking exactly like the cat who got the cream, and he was well aware of how clichéd it was.

"But that means… we have to get along…"

"I don't care! As long as I can stay wid Togepi!" The egg pokémon chirped gleefully and looked at its two new owners. Misty sighed, and forgetting her own problems, picked up Meowth and put him on her shoulders, then Togepi, and began to walk towards where she _knew_ Ash would be…

Ash had finished telling his mother what had happened. First she had been angry with him, but she soon calmed down when she saw how angry he was with himself. She had eventually calmed him down, reassuring him that things like this happened all the time, and that Misty and Brock were bound to forgive him. They both admitted that it was silly of all three of them to let themselves get separated. She couldn't think of a way to take his mind off Pikachu and he eventually settled with "He'll find a way back."

Ash, after this, immediately decided to find either Pikachu or Misty, but his mother suggested he got some sleep. For once, he agreed and went straight to bed.

Meanwhile, Misty, Meowth and Togepi were making their way to Pallett Town. Meowth, despite his previous happiness, seemed to be depressed, so Misty decided to find out why. She was beginning to feel sorry for him… but there was no way in Hell she was going to let him know that.

"Hey, cat. If I'm gonna spend time with, you'd better cheer up! What's wrong?"

Meowth sighed heavily. "Nothin'."

"Must be something."

There was a pause of indeterminate length, another sigh… "I miss Jessie and James."

"I thought you hated them."

"No. I said dat I tawt dat dey hated me. But I still miss 'em. Dey may have been idiots but dey were MY idiots… and dey were my closest friends."

"You really believe that they hate you?"

Meowth pondered this query with interest. "Well… Jessie was always hittin' me. And James and me were always arguin'."

There was another pause, this time from Misty. "I think they value you more than you think." She very deftly added, nonchalantly: "I'm pretty sure that Ash hates me, though."

"What?!" Meowth was genuinely surprised - he thought that Team Twerp just got along unquestioningly.

"We had a fight. A BIG fight." she said. "He hit me. I ran off… that's why Togepi was with Brock. And incidentally that's how us two ended up in this mess."

Meowth was shocked to say the least. "He HIT you? I never saw dat comin'!"

"Neither did we." She meant the 'we' to include all three of her gang. They walked on in silence (Togepi was asleep), until Misty spotted a familiar house and approached it slowly. "Here goes nothing…" she said, as she raised a clenched fist and knocked on the door.


	11. ...And Paths Seperate

11

11. …and paths separate.

Jessie and James finally got back to their cabin and ran inside, slamming the door for no otherwise apparent reason than it seemed fitting considering the speed they were moving. They immediately hurried to the table and Jessie put the unopened bag of money in the middle. They sat on opposite sides of the table, staring at the bag for a long time. It was very, very small. Either it was very few coins of high value (unlikely), or very few coins of little value, and they reckoned it was probably the latter. Whichever, it still wasn't much for their hard work in finally capturing Pikachu.

After a long pause, Jessie grabbed the bag and tipped its contents on the table and they regarded them with interest. As they suspected, the coins were of a low value. She began to separate them into two piles, not at all surprised to discover that there was an odd number (which, ironically, would have divided equally between them had Meowth been there.) She placed the spare coin in the middle and pushed James' pile of money towards him. They resumed their 'let's-stare-at-the-money' game for a few seconds, until James finally moved and placed the coin silently on Jessie's pile. She diverted her gaze from the now empty space on the table-top, to look at him curiously. _What…?_

Then they simultaneously realised it had been a full five minutes and neither of them had said anything. James finally spoke up.

"I can't believe how little we got paid." he said. Jessie resisted the urge to smack him as he once again managed to say something stupid in a very poignant moment. His words, as usual, failed to match his actions.

"Just be glad we got what we did." she said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" She stared at him for a long time, not saying anything and regretting her last comment. _I know that look. _he thought. _Something's wrong with this picture._

"When the Boss finds out what I did…" She dropped her head and stared vigilantly at the suddenly very interesting knots in the wooden surface of the table.

"What did you do, Jess?" He mentally cursed himself - he'd done it again! She didn't answer. "Jessie?" Still nothing. "Jessica!?" She damned herself silently, scratched the back of her neck again (which, he noted, she'd been doing all day), and then looked at him. _What the Hell's going on NOW?_ he thought, trying to read her expression and failing.

Giovanni fingered his new pokéball. Something just didn't seem quite right; his Persian kept sniffing the ball suspiciously and growling. True, it was Meowth's pokéball, but they wouldn't be stupid enough to give him back, would they? He suspected they valued their lives too much. However, he still didn't trust them, and his previous plan of just sending the pokéball straight to the lab for testing was aborted. He opened it.

There was a flash of red light… and then… nothing. He slammed his fists on the desk, uttered a random and rather foul expletive, and turned an unhealthy shade of red. They were going to pay for this…

Jessie still hadn't spoken. James asked his question again, more firmly, since variations on her name weren't working, and saying each word slowly and precisely. "Jessica. What. Did. You. Do?"

She sighed loudly, gave a 'hey-what-the-hell' look and said: "Well…" Then she bent forward and shook out her hair. With the magic of anime, Pikachu fell out of it, looking vaguely dazed. He rolled along the table, came to rest at James, stood up and grinned at him.

"Pika!" Then he fell over sideways.

"Jessie - the Boss is gonna be SO mad."

"I know." James wasn't so sure. "I KNOW!"

"Why? Why did you do this?" She certainly wasn't going to answer that one. It was something she hadn't considered for a start, and secondly, she wasn't sure he'd like the answer anyway. James was getting remotely sick of her attitude by this point, and he jumped up and ran to her side of the table, arm raised unintentionally threateningly.

"DAMMIT, JESSIE -" he never finished his sentence as she whipped her head around to look at him. It was a look that could wipe out a small continent.

"I SWEAR James, if you hit me, you'll be leaving this cabin in an AMBULANCE!" He knew she wasn't joking, too. He lowered his arm again.

"I wasn't going to hit you."

"You're damn right you weren't." They both realised that they were veering off the subject somewhat. Pikachu noticed this too.

"Pika…"

"SHUT UP!" they both shouted. Pikachu ran off and cowered under a chair. James glared at him and then turned back to Jessie.

"You still haven't answered me. Why?"

"Why do you think?"

"I don't know, that's why I asked."

"Because I'm sick of this!"

"What?"

She indicated the cabin with a hand. "This!" She pointed to the pathetic collections of money on the table. "And this!" Then she waved an arm to indicate their uniforms. "And THIS! I'm sick of all of it! Everything! I hate my job, okay!"

"Are you saying you wanna quit the Team?"

"YES!" she yelled. He could be so stupid sometimes… well, all of the time, actually.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Because I was under the impression that maybe if we did get around to actually catching that little rat one day, we'd get a small fortune each, and THEN I'd be able to quit. It was what kept me going, that and the fact that it was a job, but the more times we failed, the less I enjoyed being a villain. I've wanted to quit for the past four years! But how would I ever get another job now with my reputation!? The only way would be to change, right? So that's what I'm doing. Starting now." She was finished, anger vented for the time being. There was a pause.

"You do realise that we could both end up dead because of this?"

"No. I will. You're still on the team. I'm the deviant." She tried to keep the sarcastic tone out of her voice, but it didn't work.

"I knew something was wrong. You've been acting weird ever since we caught Pikachu."

She laughed to herself, then said to no-one in particular. "Oh, great! I'm on Giovanni's hit list, and James is delusional…"

"I mean it, Jessie. You carried Meowth when he asked. That was when I noticed it… you cried for him, too. You even admitted that you missed him!"

"So?"

"So what happened to the all-resilient Jessie? Never cries, always fights, and definitely never lets her emotions show."

"I changed." she admitted. "And here it is straight from the horse's mouth: I quit." With that she folded her arms defensively and sat back down, apparently sulking. James was at a loss as to what to do next. He wandered around the room for a few seconds in silence, ending up at the chair where Pikachu was hiding and watching with interest. He picked up the pokémon and placed him on the table. Then he collected up all of the money and tipped it back into the bag. Finally he sat down again in his original chair. The two of them stared at Pikachu from opposite sides of the table and thought about how much trouble this one little pokémon had caused. They wondered whether they actually DID hate the kids they had come to know as Team Twerp, or whether it was just an act, like all the rest of it.

After what seemed like an interminable length of time, James spoke up.

"Me too." It had been so long since either of them had said anything that Jessie had forgotten what this was in relevance to.

"Pardon?"

"You said you quit. Me too." He thought he was doing the right thing. Evidently he was wrong. Jessie lightly banged her head on the table, then laid it on her folded arms in exasperation. She let out a sigh.

"Then it's settled. We're both dead."

"Not if I can help it." he said. "We need to go. Now. Before they can find us." She looked up from the protective haven of her own arms. "But first we need to return that Pikachu to the twerp."

She smiled, ever-so slightly. "You mean it?" He nodded. "Good. I thought I was going soft…" He laughed and held out a hand to help her up. Instead of taking it she leapt up and threw herself at him in a mad hug. "Thank you!" Then she let go, completely embarrassed.

"Come on. We've got to move. We're fugitives now!" With that they abandoned their cabin, carrying only a thoroughly confused Pikachu and a small bag of money, and leapt into the jeep, driving off at full speed…

Several minutes later they were still travelling in the jeep they had pilfered from Team Rocket Headquarters, discussing where to go.

"We need to go somewhere that he'd never think to look." said Jessie.

"Unfortunately, we can't go inside his heart." _Did I really just say that…? _James regretted that the instant he had said it. Jessie looked at him - it was remarkably profound for him.

"Where does that twerp live?"

"Why?"

"He'd never think to go looking there and if we're gonna give back this Pikachu it seems like the most logical place to go."

"You're right." said James. Where DID that kid live? "Isn't it Pallett?"

"Yes, that's it. Pallett."

"I think we passed it."

"Oh." Silently she turned the jeep. "Ash Ketchum, prepare for trouble."

"Hey. We've quit, remember?"

"Old habits die hard and one last time won't hurt! Come on… you know you want to!" she said. After a pause he joined in.

"Make it double…"

"To protect the world from devastation." Jessie accelerated the jeep in triumph, and James was thrown back in his seat.

"To unite all peoples within our nation." he whimpered. Jessie slowed down again.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light." Her voice was cracking but she tried not to let it show.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight…" He was quiet, almost contemplative. They paused and waited for Meowth to say his line… then it dawned on them that in their moment of mayhem he wasn't there to celebrate with them. Jessie tried not to sound too upset by it.

"Oh well." There was an uncomfortable silence. She broke it, trying to sound chipper. "Look at me… first I decide to give back the rodent and now I'm getting all sentimental over that stupid cat." They laughed at their own expense and drove on in silence.

They arrived at Pallett Town shortly after. At the boundary of the city, James suddenly shouted "Stop the jeep!" and Jessie ground to a halt.

"Why?"

"I've been thinking about that money."

"Well if it isn't food…" she began.

"That's not what I mean."

"Oh. You want that other coin? Well, okay, makes no odds to me…"

"That's not what I mean either. It's just that if one of us was to keep it, all of it, it would go a lot further than if we divided it." She couldn't believe her ears. "Get out." In shock, she did as requested, and he shunted himself into the drivers side and rolled down the window. Jessie couldn't believe he would just take the money and run. However, her fears were soon replaced by another one when he threw her the bag of coins.

"Wha-"

"Take it."

"But -"

"Take it. I'm going to get my inheritance. I don't know how and I don't know how long it'll take me, but when I do, as soon as I've got it, I'm going to come and find you. You keep that money and sort this Ash business out. You'll be better at explaining it anyway, and see if you can find Meowth. Apologise from both of us."

"But what about your parents and… HER?"

"I'll figure something out. Just go. Take Pikachu with you." She obediently, but somewhat in a daze, took Pikachu from the back of the jeep. "It'll be far easier to stay alive if we're separated. You know how Giovanni likes to execute his deviants together. Even if one of us does get caught, it'll buy some time."

She was utterly amazed. She knew he was right but she didn't know exactly why he was doing this.

"Why, James?"

"Because there has got to be a better way to live than this. We may have quit but I don't want to spend my entire life on the run. Maybe we can buy him off our backs." He stopped. "I promise I will come and get you."

His absolute and uncharacteristic sincerity brought tears to her eyes. She approached the jeep and placed her hands on the window frame, peering in at him. He suddenly pulled the ever-present rose from a pocket and threaded it through her hair without a word, then placed his hands over hers on the window frame.

"You're really going? I can't believe it."

"I'm not going forever."

"But what if you can't find me? Then what?" It was pointless trying to hide her tears now.

"I could never lose you." he said with finality, and hesitated only slightly before planting a kiss on her forehead. "Goodbye, Jess."

Before she could reply, he had already driven off. She had no idea how difficult this would be, this saying goodbye and she watched the jeep disappear down the road. She wanted to run after him, to catch up with that jeep and go with him… it had to be better than feeling helpless on the side of the road. In fact she wanted to do more than run after it, she wanted to scream after it, in the hope of stopping him. She almost did it, going through every possible thing she wanted to say, all of the possible things she COULD say, and then deciding that none of them sounded particularly intelligent. Resisting the urge to burst into tears, she turned around with determination and headed towards Ash's house.


	12. She Came Back

12

12. She came back

Misty had been at Ash's house for over an hour, and was drinking her fourth mug of cocoa, having explained the story from her point of view. It hadn't been much different from Ash's version. It had taken a lot out of her, with a lot of tears, but now she was sitting quietly, the only sound her occasional slurping, Finally she finished her drink and spoke up.

"So is he here?"

"Well, yes."

"Where -"

"He's sleeping."

"That makes a change…" she thought, but quickly abandoned that idea when Ash's mother gave her a warning look. "Should I go and wake him up?"

Mrs. Ketchum considered this. "No, I'll get him." Misty nodded as the woman went into Ash's room, feeling strangely apprehensive, but not really knowing why. She'd known him for seven years, but the other day it was like she didn't know him at all. Whatever was about to happen in the next few minutes would determine whether they might know each other for another seven years.

Ash woke with a start as his mother tapped him on the shoulder.

"Wha -? Who?" he mumbled. "Mom?"

"Morning Ash, I've got a surprise for you." she said, and then went back into the lounge. Ash forced himself out of bed and meandered after her, confused. He supposed that whatever it was it had better be good… and then he froze in the doorway when he spotted a familiar shock of ginger hair on the sofa.

"M -Misty?" He couldn't quite believe it when she turned around to face him. After a pause of incalculable time, they both began to speak at the same time.

"So sorry… it was all my fault… very sorry…" Just as suddenly they stopped talking and it was then Ash noticed the nearly faded red mark on her cheek.

"Did I do that?"

"It's not that bad, really." She instantly contradicted herself by holding a hand to cover it.

"I'm really sorry, Misty. Can you ever forgive me?" She looked thoughtful.

"I'll think about it." There was another pause and then she smiled. Ash's mother, watching the whole situation with interest, wasn't entirely sure what happened next, as the two bodies turned into a blur and met in a hug, then leapt apart, blushing furiously. Misty was blushing more than Ash, although it was hard to tell. The thought of why she was blushing made her blush even more, and the red mark on her cheek was now completely gone. After a few seconds she remembered something. "Still no Pikachu?"

Ash's face fell. "No." It was then that he noticed Meowth, sleeping near Togepi. "Is that…?" Misty nodded and recounted the story Meowth had told her. "Wow… That motto just won't be the same without them." Then, as if in response, the cat answered, dreaming.

"Meeeeowth."

There was silence for several seconds and then a knock on the door…

After much contemplation, Mrs. Ketchum opened the front door and was surprised to see a vaguely familiar person… she just couldn't place where from. She was about twenty one years old with long red hair… and Ash's mother recognised her uniform… then it dawned on her who this person was. She was bad news… but she looked terrible, upset, and, apparently, alone except for a Pikachu. Where was her friend?

"Is this Ash Ketchum's house?" said the girl. The answer she received was not the friendly 'yes' she had been expecting, as Ash and Misty came to the door to see what was going on.

"YOU! Can't you leave me alone?" shouted Ash. Jessie said nothing, but instead handed him Pikachu. He looked confused. "Wha -?"

"Team Rocket is no more. At least not where James and I are concerned. We've quit."

"Where IS James?" said Misty, noticing his absence for the first time. Jessie dropped her head and meekly asked:

"Could I come in?" Mrs Ketchum instantly let her into the house and sat her down on the sofa. Meowth had by this point wandered off with Togepi and he was nowhere in sight. Jessie was coaxed slowly into telling her story by all three people.

"James and me have quit the Team, like I said. We're fed up of all the evil deeds we're made to perform. Only trouble is that now I've returned your Pikachu - and before you ask it was my idea - the Boss is trying to get us… no-one quits Team Rocket and lives to tell the tale. We're both fugitives now.

"As for James, he's given me all of our measly pay and gone to get his inheritance… God knows how long he'll be gone. He's promised to come find me when he gets it. I knew he'd been planning something when he suggested early retirement the other day, I knew there had to be some reason for it. Subtlety was never one of his strong points, you see, but this time he had me stumped.

"So that just leaves Meowth." The cat pokémon was now standing in the doorway with Togepi, behind Ash, observing the scene and waiting for contempt from Jessie. "He's also quit, he was the first to have the guts to do it. He kidnapped Togepi from your friend Brock - yes, he actually caught something! - then he went off with it to start a new life for himself. He said he didn't want to be around two failures like me and James… I can't say I blame him, personally… I mean, would YOU stay with us two?" Ash was about to say something but was then silenced by a frown and a threatening spark from Pikachu, much to his surprise. "I'd do the same if I were him." She sighed. "And even though we were always fighting, I still miss him…" she trailed off, then spotted Togepi wandering across the carpet towards Misty. "Togepi…? But that means…. It can't be… Meowth?"

He peered around the door frame and Ash's legs, and meekly looked up at her with as much feline charm as he could. "Dat's right…" Then he launched himself at full speed towards her legs and clung on for dear life.


	13. Now What?

13

13. Now what?

__

After Meowth and Jessie had said their apologies, they decided to help Ash and Misty find Brock, as a way of turning over a new leaf and proving they'd really quit Team Rocket. It would mean that they would be more difficult for Giovanni's cronies to find, and they'd have a better chance of the survival. Also, Jessie was secretly hoping they might reach James' hometown and stay there in his sanctuary of a mansion. Even if Jessiebell was there - she could cope with that so long as she wasn't on the run any more.

So, no sooner had Mrs Ketchum got her son home than he was leaving again, but at least he was in better spirits than when he arrived. In fact he practically skipped down the road and the other three had trouble keeping up. Eventually he slowed to a brisk, almost marching, walk, carrying Pikachu proudly on his shoulder. (The effect was somewhat ruined when Pikachu fell off but Ash didn't mind.) The atmosphere was friendly between the old friends and even the new ones for the first time in a very long trip.

After several run-ins with some Team Rocket assassins, Jessie and Meowth were getting sick of hiding, and Ash and Misty were getting just as sick of lying for them. It was quickly established, however, that the assassins only recognised Jessie from her uniform, seeing as how she and James were the only members who still wore that style, so at the next town, Jessie and Misty went shopping, leaving Ash and Meowth sitting at the side of the road, sulking. "Women!" they sighed, and embarked on a game of scissors-paper-stone.

In the shop they had picked, Jessie and Misty were sorting through a sale rack, having worked out the most they could afford to spend and still have some money left over for emergencies. They found one thing in Jessie's size, which she tried on behind a screen, and ventured out for Misty's opinion. It made a world of a difference when the imposing 'R' was gone and she looked far more approachable in jeans and a tee-shirt. She stood in front of a mirror and regarded the outfit with interest.

"I look like Ash." she decided. Misty laughed.

"Yeah, all you need is the Pikachu and the hat." she agreed, and went to investigate a rack of very expensive clothes, just for fun. The light, cheerful atmosphere suddenly became very quiet and ominous, as Jessie looked herself over again and then dropped her head. Misty got to her just in time from the other side of the shop as she sank to her knees and began to cry uncontrollably. "Hey, what's wrong? You don't look that bad."

"I'm sorry, it's just… being out of uniform reminded me… James used to love dressing up." she managed, already starting to calm down after letting it out.

"Well I'm not really the right person to be talking to." said Misty, and called Meowth into the shop. Jessie didn't have time to question her before she was answered. "He's known James nearly as long as you have and he knows both of you better than I do." Meowth wandered in, followed by Ash, who was not content to sit outside playing the game with himself.

"What's goin' on?" he asked. Misty pulled Jessie to her feet and handed her a tissue from the pay desk, then picked up Meowth and placed him firmly on her shoulder.

"Jessie needs to talk and you're just the cat for the job." They both protested this.

"But -"

"NO BUTS!" Talk!" And with that, she pushed them towards the door; they walked off slowly and silently. Ash joined Misty, thoroughly confused by the whole matter. He took off his hat and scratched the back of his head.

"What was all that about?" he asked. Misty understood completely. She grinned and rustled his hair, just to irritate him. He hit her hand away, looked immediately guilty and put his hat back on as a diversion, but Misty didn't seem to notice.

"You'll get it one day, Ash." she said, and walked off. He ran after her, shouting.

"Hey! What's THAT supposed to mean?!" Ash hated it when Misty got into 'girl things', which she seemed to be doing with regular monotony, because half the time he didn't get it, and even if he did, there was bound to be some reason why he shouldn't. The only problem with her being the only girl on the Team was that nobody, apparently, understood her. Especially Ash. Which was why he was glad that Jessie had come along because at least Misty would have someone to talk to. Two girls and two guys, and Meowth - they couldn't really go far wrong… except that Meowth and Brock DID understand 'girl things' and Ash didn't, and nobody was prepared to explain it to him either. (And of course, Brock was still somewhere else so the girl:guy ratio was a bit off.) The best explanation he ever got was "You'll understand one day" like just now. He mentally reminded himself to ask his mother the next time he saw her, then realised that while he'd been thinking, Misty had decided to go window shopping, so he ran after her. 


	14. Brock's Back

14

14. Brock's back.

Unbeknownst to the four new friends, Brock was nearby. In fact he was approaching Pallett, having had the same idea as everyone else. He arrived at Ash's house and Mrs Ketchum went through the story again as briefly as possible to save explanations later, then sent him off in the direction of the rest of his friends. He practically ran down the road.

Several minutes later he ran into them, or at least, two of them. Ash and Misty saw him coming and ran to meet him, and they all paused briefly. Then Misty grinned and gave Brock a hug (Ash couldn't help noticing that she seemed to hug Brock longer than she'd hugged him earlier), and then Brock slapped Ash on the back heartily.

"Hey, guys. Your mom told me everything, Ash. Where's Jessie and Meowth?" he said. Misty indicated the direction they'd gone.

"Talking." Brock didn't need to ask what they were talking about, and this time, by reading the expression on his face, neither did Ash.

Meowth and Jessie had so far said absolutely nothing. Finally, the cat broke the awkward silence. "So why did dat twoip send da two of us out here?"

"She's not a twerp, she's trying to help."

"What happened to you in dat store?" he asked. Jessie dropped her head.

"I just got a little upset, that's all."

"About James?"

"She's also right - you do know me well." There was another silence.

"He's gonna find yous, ya know. He's gonna get yous."

"Who? James or Giovanni?" she said, attempting to inject some humour. Meowth reprimanded her for it with a prod of his claw.

"You know he'd never leave ya."

"Yes, but…" There was a pause. "What about his parents? They'll make him… he'll end up with her!" The disdain in her voice was more than evident, and she made no attempt to hide it.

"I tink he's got some kinda plan he didn't want to tell us."

"Like?"

"I don't know. Somethin' big and secret. A surprise, maybe. But there's no point in askin' me, I know as much as you do, probably less."

"I hope you're right."

"Meowth's always right!" he said proudly. "Shall we go back?"

"Sure." It was half-hearted. They turned around and began to walk back to where Ash and Misty were waiting for them. After another awkward silence, Jessie began again, one tear rolling down her cheek. "I just miss him so much, Meowth. What if he decides to stay up at that big mansion? I might never see him again… he'll never know…" she didn't finish her thought, but shook her head and trailed off.

"Never know what?"

"Nothing."

"Well whatever it is, you'd better tell him when you see him."

With those words of wisdom, the conversation ended and the two ex-members of Team Rocket walked back to their new friends.

"I think I see them!" said Misty, pointing in the direction of the silhouetted forms of Jessie and Meowth. In a matter of seconds they were back, and Jessie looked much better.

"Hi." said Brock sheepishly. "I've been told what's going on."

"Hi." replied Jessie.

"Sorry about dat stomach ting from before." said Meowth, and held out a paw to shake, which Brock took.

"No problem." he said. Misty turned her attention to Jessie, concerned.

"Feeling any better?"

"A little. Talking it out helped. Thanks for the advice." replied Jessie, smiling meekly. Noticing Brock and Meowth's pact, she added: "I think those two have the right idea. If we're all going to be friends from now on we'd better at least form some kind of truce."

"Agreed." Misty shook her hand, then Meowth's and when the whole group had finished they decided on a direction to go.

The four humans and their pokémon walked into the distant setting sun to begin a new future. None of them knew what lay in store for them on the road ahead or in the years to come, but they were sure it would be the adventure of a lifetime.

****

END OF CHAPTER ONE.

Chapter Two is coming soon! 

Comments? Flames? Praise? Whatever you thought, email me at [**Teyla_Minh@team-rocket-fan.com**][1]** . I appreciate all feedback as long as it's not TOO negative (I might cry!) and I can almost guarantee a reply. (In fact you might even get some sneak previews of Chapter Two if you're very lucky!)**

   [1]: mailto:Teyla_minh@team-rocket-fan.com



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